The 1995 Princess Diana Outfit That Fashion's Biggest Stars Deemed Her 'Most Elegant'
Princess Diana was and still is a fashion icon. Back in 1995, two years before her untimely death, Hello Magazine released a definitive list of her most elegant outfits for the year. The list, which was featured in issue 387 and released on December 30, asked several A-list designers to vote on a collection of looks that the princess donned in the course of the year. The winning outfit was the epitome of '90s minimalism.
Tim Graham/Getty
During a whirlwind trip to Moscow, Russia, in June 1995, Diana visited the Tushinskaya Hospital wearing a structural black shift dress. The simple frock had a chic bateau neckline, but Diana upgraded her LBD style with accessorizing. Namely, she wore a thin belt around the waist and sizeable statement pearls — which were one of her jewelry box staples. She finished the look with capped-toe court shoes that matched her cream handbag.
Designers Claude Montana, Christian Lacroix, Hervé Léger, Emanuel Ungaro, Tomasz Starzewski, Amanda Wakeley, Michel Klein, and Karl Lagerfeld awarded a total of 45 points to the look, landing it at the top of the elegant list. In its analysis of the princess' transforming style at the time, Hello wrote that her wardrobe was getting sexier. This look proves that the assessment was certainly true — especially if they were comparing it to the royal's much frumpier looks from the 1980s. Although her divorce from Prince Charles wasn't finalized yet, Diana clearly didn't consider herself part of the Royal Family anymore, because she wore bare legs without stockings, which was considered scandalous for someone once in the running to be queen consort. Still, when you consider Princess Diana's revenge dress, which became one of the most iconic looks in fashion history, this subdued above-the-knee number is totally family friendly in comparison.
Lady Di had a few other elegant looks in 1995
The black dress she wore on her trip to Russia was the cream of the crop of Princess Diana's 1995 wardrobe, at least as far as the professionals were concerned. However, they also voted for a few other key looks that nearly rivaled the Moscow look. These outfits are good examples of how Princess Diana's wardrobe changed after leaving the royal family.
In fourth place on the list was a black skirt suit, which she wore to a September lunch in Paris, France, with the French first lady Bernadette Chirac. This 'fit was much more corporate-coded and did give us some nostalgia for Diana's previously loved '80s silhouettes, but in a fresh, chic way. The suit featured a blazer with volume at the shoulders, large pockets, and cinching at the waist, which created an hourglass, peplum silhouette. She wore it with a skin-tight pencil skirt that hit just above the knee, and once again completed the look with pearls, this time in the form of a multi-chain choker. The final touch was a Versace croc-skin handbag. Valentino, Hervé Léger, Christian Lacroix, Amanda Wakeley, and Michel Klein loved this look.
That October, the princess attended the premiere of "Haunted" in London, England, and scrubbed up so well that the outfit made it to fifth place on the elegant list. Her navy Catherine Walker dress was very aligned with the princess' post-royal wardrobe, featuring a form-fitting silhouette and scoop neck. Versace designed her navy clutch, and she made the ensemble even louder with bright-red nail polish — another no-no on the palace dress list. It's easy to see why Claude Montana, Valentino, Christian Lacroix, Hervé Léger, Amanda Wakeley, and Karl Lagerfeld all fell in love with this lewk.